Quarterback Peyton Manning (18) possesses many weapons with the Broncos and has had two weeks to study Seattle's defensive tendencies. / Matt Detrich/The Star

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He will walk with Tom Brady and Joe Montana, Johnny Unitas and John Elway, walk with the greatest quarterbacks to have played the game of professional football. After so much postseason heartache throughout his Hall of Fame career, he will have his second Super Bowl victory, with a chance to win even more before his career is done in Denver.

Broncos 27, Seahawks 21.

For years, my view ó and itís just my view ó was that Manning, while the greatest regular-season quarterback of this or any age, stood one step below the aforementioned quartet. They all had multiple Super Bowls (Unitas won one Super Bowl and two pre-Super Bowl NFL championships), Manning just the one against the Chicago Bears while he played for Indianapolis.

While we all acknowledge that football is the ultimate team game and that giving all the credit or blame for postseason results to the quarterback can be foolhardy, itís long been my sense that Manning needs that second Super Bowl to enter the greatest-of-all-time conversation.

Sunday will be a coronation.

Manning has faced good defenses all year, defenses nearly as good as Seattle and its Legion of Boom, and he has eviscerated all of them. Nobody has really slowed the Broncos, and Seattle wonít be able to do it Sunday in the Super Bowl at the Meadowlands.

Why?

Too many weapons. Wes Welker. Julius Thomas. Demaryius Thomas. Eric Decker. As the Colts found out, if you can force Seattle to play a nickel defense, which almost everybody does against the Broncos, you can find mismatches. Or you can do as Manning did in the Coltsí Super Bowl win, and hand off the ball, in this case to the vastly underrated Knowshon Moreno. Donít be surprised if Moreno goes for 75-100 yards.

The way to beat Manning is by getting pressure on him, especially up the middle. The Colts had some success in that area. But by and large, the Denver offensive line has built a moat around its quarterback. The Broncos allowed just 16 sacks all season, in part because Manning gets rid of the ball in 2.3 seconds.

Colts backup quarterback Matt Hasselbeck made a good point on TV the other day: Seattle basically plays the same vanilla defense on every play. This wonít be much of a puzzle for Manning to put together. With two weeks preparation time, he will surgically pick apart the Seattle defense.

Itís not lost on me that when the No. 1 offense plays the No. 1 defense, the No. 1 defense usually wins.

The difference, though, will be Manning, and all those splendid ducks he throws all over the field. He has had the greatest regular season a quarterback has ever had, heís been efficient and occasionally spectacular through two playoff games, and Sunday, he finishes the job.

Maybe weíre viewing this game with our heart; Iíll cop to that.

But for the first time in my life, I can say this with certitude: I trust Peyton Manning in the big game, in the biggest game.

Bob Kravitz is a columnist for The Indianapolis Star. Call him at (317) 444-6643 or email bob.kravitz@ indystar.com. Follow him on Twitter: @BKravitz.